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You do not even know how long I’ve been waiting to make these…and therefore post them. It’s not exactly a penny pinching meal, but even Pennies on a Platter is allowed to splurge once in a while. :)

Every Christmas dinner at my in-law’s involves Mama G’s crab cakes. And, if you haven’t figured it out yet, Mama G is my sweet mother-in-law. She has perfected her recipe and shared it with me this last Christmas.

I couldn’t wait to make them! But, I knew I needed to wait for a special occasion since the crab meat is so expensive! This was our Valentine’s dinner.

It’s worth the wait to save up your money. The crab meat I bought from Whole Foods was $30 a pound. You can notmust not use imitation crab or some cheap type of crab meat for these. And, if you do, I don’t want to hear you whining about how gross they turned out! blek!

One way I was able to cut the cost is I cut the recipe in half and used only one pound instead of two. Mama G’s recipe makes around 8-9 huge cakes because she’s got the whole family to feed. One per person is filling enough at the size she makes them! There were only the two of us this time so I didn’t need that many. I made 6 cakes…but didn’t make them as big as Mama G, although they weren’t that small either.

This recipe is perfection because the amount of spice is subtle enough to not overpower the meat, yet strong enough to be evident. Best of all, the amount of meat is each cake is outstanding!

I was a little nervous about making these here in Chicago-land. My in-laws live in on the coast in Maryland, so they have access to the freshest crab meat. So, I made sure I bought the meat from Whole Foods (plus, I had a gift card..bonus!). They turned out just the same as we had at Christmas! We were very pleased!

Not only do we love this crab cakes recipe for its taste, but also for the nostalgic flavor that comes along with it. We could have just closed our eyes, taken a bite, and felt like we were sitting at the big round glass table on the coast of Maryland.

Clean meat. Even the cleanest crab needs picking through to remove shells and some “yucky” stuff. Crush the crackers in a food processor. Toss the crab and crackers in a large bowl; set aside.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a smaller bowl. Pour mixture into crab and mix gently.

With a large spoon, drop and shape mounds onto a cookie sheet or baking pan. (Mama G and I use our baking stones.) Slightly press them. You can make the cakes as big or small as you want…but may need to adjust the time of baking. Sprinkle more Old Bay seasoning on top.

Broil on “low” for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly. If you have big crabcakes, you may need a few more minutes, in which case, open the oven door halfway and continue broiling for about 5 more minutes. Just keep your eye on it.

Hi Tracy,
We do not use any sauce with the crab cakes. I sprinkle the Old Bay Seasoning on top before baking, but my husband and I love the flavor of the crab and never thought to top it with anything extra. As you suggested, either an apricot or remoulade sauce would probably be a good accompaniment if you think it’s needed. :) Glad you tried the recipe and liked it!

Hello Pennie,
Please help! I would love to try your recipe but i have a few key questions.
1. What type of Crab meat do you use, does jumbo=King?
2. Do you know of any on-line retailer that sells lump crab.( live in west TX. and I cant get lump locally, tried every store last weekend)

Hi Gaspar – Look for lump, jumbo lump or white crab meat. I thought I was going to have a hard time finding good crab meat, so before I even looked in my local stores, I called the Whole Foods Market in Maryland where Mama G gets her’s and asked if they would ship it to me. But, they wouldn’t. :( So, I did what I should’ve done in the first place and checked my local Whole Foods that had canned lump crab meat (in refrigeration), and it tasted just the same! It’s expensive, but well worth it.

Thanks for the reply. The sauce was definately not needed – they were moist as is. I’m just thinking ahead because I actually may make this AGAIN next week when we have company….they were that good! In that case, I thought a nice sauce would look pretty on the plate :)

And to your other poster, I also used canned lump crab meat from the grocery store (it was on major sale this week at our local grocery store – the A&P – so I got a huge can of good quality crab meat for $8.99/pound). I also found it canned at Costcos/BJ’s (don’t know if they have those in Texas?) for $12.99/pound, so I think we’ll try that next if A&P doesn’t have a sale anytime soon.

For what could be a really expensive meal out, we ended up spending about $2.75 for each REALLY large crabcake. Two crabcakes and an asian salad was more than enough for our hungry appetites.

Mamma G (a.k.a. Aunt Sue) made these for me and my husband while we visited them in Maryland. They were OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD delicious! I can’t wait to make these for a very special occasion for my husband and I- great anniversary meal, I’m thinking!